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Halloweentown
Earth 1317. The source for all things fae and cryptid. Cryptidville. Halloweentown. Since it's accidental discovery by the heroes Solitaire and Flourish this parallel earth has come to have many names. Regardless of what it is called, it remains a place of breathtaking beauty and astronomical danger. Environment The whole of the environment of Halloweentown is low-lying rolling hills, vast unspoiled acres of copses and woodlands, pristine lakes, and flower-clotted meadows. For what towns and settlements exist and there are many of them all of the architecture is Victorian New England, all the structures are identical to housing tracks and developments that can be found in Boston, Weatherly, and some districts of New York. The season and temperature remains constant. Halloweentown is a land of perpetual Autumn, with daylight temperatures of 62 degrees and nighttime temperatures of 46 degrees. The trees all detonate in stunning hues of gold, orange, red, and yellow and sometimes masses of dead leaves that snap and crunch underfoot can cover the ground for several square miles. The air is constantly fragrant with the aroma of ripe apples, pumpkin, allspice, and cinnamon. Where the landscape does give way to human habitation, rows of houses, manors, and stately old homes lie nestled in neat rows with expansive yards, white picket fences, and colorful door stoops. However, it's upon entering the towns that the casual visitor becomes aware that something is not quite right. The settlements are not inhabited by human beings. No answers come to knocks on doors or calls of hello. No birds call or cry, no dogs can be heard barking in the distance.It is unquestionably clear that humans did build these settlements and did live in them but that they don't anymore. Nobody knows why. Indigenous Life Despite the utter lack of anyone human, Halloweentown does boast life, and lots of it. Out in the wilds giant and dire animals have been documented, photographed, and caught on video: monstrously sized beavers and dire bears seem the most common. Sasquatch have been seen in the woodlands but are shy of being approached and documented. giant worms, slugs, and pleasiasaur-like animals have been observed swimming in numerous lakes. Often, buzzing and stable green or yellow portal vortexes have been found and documented. Nobody yet has been brave enough to move through one of these but it is slowly becoming accepted to Earth's scientific community that these portals do lead to those places on Earth where cryptids have been reported. As one might imagine, Halloweentown is a cryptozoologist's playground. The most abundant intelligent life in Halloweentown are the fae. God-like Tuatha de Danaan, noble and haughty Sidhe, viscous trolls and redcaps, elusive sluagh, and industrious brownies are easy to locate. Very few of such of these beings are friendly to humans. At best, human visitors can expect to be treated with utter indifference. At worst, they will be slaughtered and eaten. It is a man with poor judgment whom comes to Halloweentown without proper knowledge of what he may face and the proper means to protect himself. The only type of human that ever seems to be completely safe are children under the age of 10 that find themselves here accidentally. Such children are quickly caught up the fae of The Seelie Court--good and honorable fae--and returned posthaste to their own home worlds. Indeed, troops of Seelie Fae constantly go on the march searching for such children, hoping to find them before the brutal monsters or malicious Unseelie Court fae find them first. Beings of Note The following individuals and monsters have been positively identified as being a resident of, if not born into, Halloweentown. Queen Titania is the public face and ruler of the entire world. She answers only to the Tuatha de Danaan and, through them, her power and authority is absolute. She is considered a Seelie fae but has very little time for the concerns of human beings, consenting to meet the explorers and scholars to Halloweentown only if they both make a direct appeal and such an appeal is reasonable. "I need help finding my lost daughter" would garner her attention, "I've heard so much about you and want to meet" would be repulsed. The Pumpkin Thing is a monsterous creature, some call it a demon, that seems only to appear when there are humans in the region, whch it then hunts for food. The Pumpkin Thing stands twelve feet in height with a thin frame of withered dull green skin. Long pumpkin vines protrude from the Thing's arms and back which it uses to ensnare its potential meals. Where a single head should be are instead five carved jack-o-lanters that constantly howl, cackle, and belch flame. It's speculated that Pumpkin Jack, a terrifying and murderous entity of similar appearance that shows up every Halloween in Darkness Falls, may be either a relative of or direct avatar of the Pumpkin Thing. '''Ankou '''sometimes comes out of the woods at night, seated in the cock-pit of a hearse driven by half a doxen rotting, maggot-infested corpse horses. Ankou is dressed all in black, most often appearing as a stately gentleman more than happy yo carry a group of human travellers to wherever they need to go. The foolishly trusting enter the carriage and are lost. Ankou is a spectre of death, one of the foulest of the Unseelie sidhe. He is best avoided but if avoidance is impossible than a polite no thank you is enough to send him searching elsewhere.